


Recruits, Part 1

by TheW0rldAsSeenInBaybayin



Series: Squire No More [2]
Category: Star vs. The Forces Of Evil
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Talking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-17 01:47:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29463747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheW0rldAsSeenInBaybayin/pseuds/TheW0rldAsSeenInBaybayin
Summary: Kelly wasn’t expecting to meet Marco here of all places, nor was she expecting to hear the tidings he brought with him.Or his surprising offer...A sequel to “Nothing.”
Relationships: Marco Diaz & Kelly
Series: Squire No More [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2112225
Kudos: 2





	Recruits, Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello again, enjoy!

“Tom, have you seen Marco?”

* * *

Of all the people Kelly would expect to encounter in her local market, Marco Diaz was the one that came to mind. 

But there he was walking down the aisle with his back turned to her, a Dalek-shaped salt shaker in one hand and a longsword in the other, and a bemused expression plastered on his cute little face. If anything, he seemed lost amidst the imposing shelves of neatly-packed products and gear—quite the difference compared to the chaos and insanity of Quest Buy, which nearly made up for the limited stock on offer and the inordinately high prices for even the simplest of products.

Nearly.

Kelly called out, “Marco?”

The human whirled round in surprise. “Kelly?! What are you doing here?”

“I’m off on errands for the day, so I went to get some cleaning materials for my gear. The stuff here’s much more reliable than what Quest Buy’s got on offer, and I really don’t feel like lobbing someone’s head off just for a bottle of detergent.” The woman paused as if suddenly remembering something, before staring oddly at him. “Aren’t you supposed to be off on squire duties with Star right now?”

Marco’s face fell, and for a brief moment Kelly felt an overwhelming wave of sadness emanating from the human. But it vanished as quickly as it came, the squire’s expression contorting back into something more emotionally neutral.

“I left.”

Wait, what?

Kelly blinked in confusion. “What do you mean, you left? As in, you _left?”_

“Yep, filed my resignation papers and snuck out of the castle before anyone noticed.”

“You resigned?! But what about Star? She’s your bestie, and the two of you are practically inseparable!”

The human froze, his stoic exterior visibly breaking at the mention of his beloved as Marco’s expression slowly, subtly shifted into one of deep melancholy and regret. There was no holding back now; Marco’s and Kelly’s eyes met, and the astonished Wootz could now see all too clearly the naked anguish and grief within, seen only once before amidst the flashing lights of the Soulrise.

No question about it—whatever caused Marco to leave Mewni so suddenly, Star Butterfly had something to do with it.

Kelly sighed. “You fell real hard for her, didn't you?”

Marco slowly, his eyes still staring off in that familiar haunted expression. “Yeah, I guess I did. So I did some thinking, and I thought: since she doesn’t need me _that_ way anymore, why stick around? Tad did have a point—I’ve got these scissors, so why not see what the rest of the multiverse has to offer?”

“But what about Star? She still needs you even as her squire, doesn’t she?”

Marco flinched, visibly anguished at the mention of the princess, but he shot back, “If Star needs companionship and someone to lean her head on, she’s got Tom. If she needs someone to party with, she’s got Pony Head. If she needs sage advice, she’s got Queen Moon. If she needs a bodyguard, she’s got you _and_ Tom _and_ the entire royal guard. Heck, if she needs something related to magic, she's got Janna and literally the _entire_ MHC at her disposal! As her squire, I’m effectively redundant; I don’t think she actually needed me in the first place!”

 _Why couldn’t she have just_ said _that?_

The human took a deep breath and exhaled, feeling the remnants of his anger from his unanticipated outburst seep out and the cool, air-conditioned breeze rushing in to take its place. Gradually, he became aware of the increasingly awkward silence between him and his friend; realizing what had just happened, he visibly shrunk, the Safe Kid stepping forward once more.

“…sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.” 

_And in public, no less._

Kelly shrugged. “It’s alright; I was actually going to check up on you today after heading back to Mewni, maybe see how you were doing after, you know, the Soulrise and all that.”

Marco nodded. “I see, thanks for that. Come to think of it, how are you doing with Tad and all?” 

_Never did manage to ask her about that amidst your grief, eh Diaz?_

The green-haired woman grimaced. “Still hurts a little, but it’s a lot easier now that he’s gone. Thanks for kicking him out, by the way.” Kelly paused, looking around as she realized they had been occupying the aisle for a while now; already, someone was standing behind her with growing impatience, waiting for them to move on or to step to the side and let him pass. “How about we continue this conversation someplace else? There’s a cafe beside the checkouts at the entrance, and the hot chocolate there is _fantastic.”_

And a chance to figure out what exactly happened, too, she mentally added.

Marco nodded. “Sure, why not? I was almost finished with these errands, anyway.”

“After you, then. What are those for, anyway?” Kelly asked, gesturing to the salt shaker.

“Oh, these? Just some knick knacks for my parents on Earth. And they’re definitely not cursed, too, from the last time I checked.”

* * *

Kelly was right; the hot chocolate here was simply _perfect._ Marco faintly smiled to himself, his taste buds sensing the thick, viscous trickle of chocolate flow along the back of his tongue and into his throat—a welcome sensation, soothing the freezing human with a layer of calming warmth.

Finding a quiet spot along the window of the cafe facing the parking lot, the Latino and his friend had sat and given their orders, nursing their drinks as the minutes passed in silence. The two soon found their words, and a light exchange ensued.

Nothing serious, at first; just some questions and remarks regarding the antics of the other members of their little group. Inevitably though, the talk soon shifted to the center of their circle of friends—a familiar princess and her beau—and the stressful, serious conversations began. Marco talked about Star and the complex love triangle between them and the ever-shifting third party (Jackie a mere few months ago, now Tom), and Kelly the dynamics of her on and off relationship with Tad. The Latino frowned at the woman’s tales of her ex-partner’s increasingly clingy behaviour approaching their breakup in Soulrise, gently sipping at his mug as the words came pouring out of her mouth.

Here was Dr. Diaz, PHD to treat Ms. Wootz, and here was Dr. Wootz, PHD to analyse Mr. Diaz. An odd, unspoken arrangement, but one that seemed to be working for them both.

Besides, the drinks were a welcome bonus.

“…so what now?” 

Marco tilted his head in thought. “I’m going to go travelling for a bit. I need a break from everything, from everything in the universe that seems to be driving me back to Star. I _need_ to take care of myself first before I can be the person Star and Tom and everyone else wants me to be, and maybe I also need to see if that kind of person _is_ what I want to be in the first place.”

Kelly slowly nodded, her eyes wandering towards Marco’s hoodie. “Where will you go?”

Marco shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe I’ll go to the Neverzone, although I’m not quite sure Hekapoo will be all too happy to see me there after our falling out. I’ll definitely spend some time on Earth to catch up with friends and family, that’s for sure. After that, who knows?”

“You’re not coming back to Mewni, aren’t you?”

The human was silent, but Kelly knew his answer even without him saying it.

“You’re not coming back.”

Slowly, surely, Marco nodded.

“Well, then don’t be a stranger, will you?”

The human faintly smiled. “I definitely won’t, Kelly, that’s for sure.” 

The two were still, letting the noise of the supermarket and the parking area outside fill in the silence between them. The human sunk deep into thought, carefully processing his conversation with Kelly and the many fascinating words they had shared. 

They both needed a break from everything, didn’t they? 

An epiphany suddenly occurred to him, and Marco turned to grin at his friend. “Want to go dimension hopping with me?”

* * *

Kelly blinked. “Wait, what?”

The human shrugged. “How about we take a break from Mewni? Take a leave from squire duties with the Crown and go exploring the dimensions for a week, and maybe take up a few additional errands for the Princess while we’re at it?”

“I thought you said you were quitting your squirehood.”

Marco flatly stared at Kelly. “Just because I’m not working for Mewni anymore doesn’t mean I’m not going to pay attention to its problems, Kelly. I may be salty about Tom and Star, but I’m not _that_ petty.”

Kelly paused, glancing at the counter as she carefully considered Marco’s offer. No question about it, her friend definitely needed the break after that debacle amidst the Soulrise. But what about her? What about her matches with Jorby? What about her duties to the kingdom, her friendship with Star? Since the princess didn’t know of what had just happened, didn’t Kelly have to tell her of what happened? Right now, the woman thought, she held nothing to gain from leaving her own position, even for just a week.

But when Kelly looked at Marco, she knew the human held no such commitments to the kingdom. If he was going to leave Mewni, he wouldn’t be coming back for a long time. It would be weeks, months, perhaps even _years_ before he returned. And someone needed to make sure that after all was said and done, he would be all right.

Besides—

Kelly shook her head, dispelling _that_ train of thought. Not now, and definitely not so soon after all that had just happened.

She turned back to Marco.

“Yeah, alright.”

* * *

“So, where do you want to start?”

Kelly frowned in response to Marco’s question, tilting her head in thought. They stood outside her apartment, a rucksack on both their backs filled to the brim with clothes and gear, Marco carefully reaching for his dimensional scissors stashed in his pocket.

“How about we sort some things out on Mewni before setting out elsewhere? I’ve heard some rumors about some planned Monster exodus from the kingdom, but there hasn’t been anything solid from Buff Frog or anyone else I know.”

Marco scowled. Buff Frog leaving? Star would be devastated if that turned out to be true, to say nothing about all her protracted efforts for Monster rights or let alone that Reunification Ball she had been planning recently. Grimacing as he nodded in acknowledgement, he continued, “Anything else we should be worried about?”

The woman shrugged. “Just the usual; Ludo’s still off on his soul-searching trip, Queen Eclipsa’s got her impending trial with the MHC, Appleton’s agitating with all the other nobles in court about Tom dating Star…what else is new?”

“Appleton again? Better keep tabs on him in case something happens involving him and Star’s choice in partners.”

“Shouldn’t _you_ be the one we should be keeping tabs on regarding Star’s choice in partners?”

Marco turned to glower at his friend. “Seriously, Kelly?”

Kelly grinned, unrepentant. “I regret nothing.”

The Latino shook his head, sighing as he did so. “How about we just leave Mewni’s problems to Mewni for the time being and relax for a bit? I had planned for some trips to a couple of places before I decided to leave Star; maybe some of them would ring a bell to you.” As he spoke, Marco reached for his other pocket, producing a slightly crumpled note with some faint scribbles inscribed upon it.

Kelly leaned forward in curiosity. “What’ve you got listed there?”

Marco rubbed his chin in thought. “Well, there’s Orynth, Laketown, the Neverzone, the Nachos Dimension—”

Neverzone? Wait a minute, didn’t Star say something about Marco’s—

“How about we try out the Neverzone? I heard you rock a massive six-pack there; Star used to gush about them back in the day, and I may have overhead a few conversations between Hekapoo and Queen Moon a couple of times.”

Despite himself, Marco blushed furiously at the remark. “It’s nothing much to brag about, Kelly. I could just as easily get it here if I started working out—”

“I want to see the six-pack.”

The human sighed, resigned to his fate. “Okay, fine...”

The portal to the Neverzone opened, spitting out crimson sparks and flames onto the trees of the surrounding forest. From within, a tall, muscular hulk emerged, a mole on his right cheek being the sole distinguishing feature amidst the thick facial hair and wild sideburns that this person was the human known to many as Marco Diaz.

Marco glanced over his shoulder, checking to see if his companion had arrived. Sure enough, there she was, frozen in place and her eyes as wide as saucers, her jaw on the ground as Kelly gawked in shock (and no small amount of pleasure) at the sight before her.

Six firm, rigid bumps glistening amidst the moonlight, reflected onto her eyes as a series of round, smooth crescents. The Wootz felt her drool slowly pool in her mouth, trickling out as vague, sensual fantasies of thick, rugged muscles rubbing against her bare skin began flashing across her mind.

“Er, Kelly?”

“Maaan, those aaaabs…”

Marco groaned.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to popular demand and some general ideas, here’s a brief sequel of sorts—the first of many, hopefully.
> 
> More coming up after this as Marco continues his adventures into the unknown.
> 
> Appleton is a nod to my second least favourite/greatest villain in SVTFOE fandom before Ishtar herself, who can be found in the masterpieces [”In the Pale Starlight”](https://m.fanfiction.net/s/13337061/1/In-the-Pale-Starlight) and [”Starfall”](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5142389), respectively. 
> 
> Thank the gods Wrathmelior is nowhere near as cracked in canon as GolfAlphaMike made Ishtar out to be...
> 
> Thanks for reading.
> 
>  **EDIT (21/02/2021):** several major technical edits to the story. That first draft was _horrible_.


End file.
